Tuesday 26 February 2008

I've been shopping!

I got a tin of "vintage" buttons from ebay ....

Some of them are quite interesting

These are my favourites

I visited a bead shop which has been where it is forever. It sold beads, and other vintage items from old leather riding boots, to knickerbockers, smocks, peacock feathers, pink wigs, schoolmasters canes, and bowler hats. I discovered a whole shelf full of such vintage ribbons that they are wrapped in brown paper. I'm going back for some of those. I was shocked to find this time, that due to rent increases and property developing plans forcing small business away with their lust for space and greed for money, that the beads have been replaced by sweeties - "The sweets have saved us" said the shopkeeper sadly, "we just have to pretend that they're beads"...... Well, this is Oxford, we have lots of students here, they like sugar. But much to my delight, despite feelings of sadness for threatned demise of this dusty little curiosity shop, there was a "bargain tank", £4.00 a scoop! This is some of my haul ...


I went to Oxfam and found these great books. I've wanted to do stained glass forever. This is my resolution to try. The Heirloom embroidery book contains all sorts of hints, tips and techniques, and the Craft book was only recently donated and so contains not only a wealth of information on a variety of skills, silversmithing, beading and knitting included, but also has a surfable list of "suppliers" in the back.

More ebay, this time knitting needles. I am absolutely determined to learn knitting again, despite grim and shadowy memories of a dark and musty convent schoolroom with a strict teacher called Mrs Long who made us to knit scarves and hated being called "Mrs Short" ...


Included in the bargain pack of 33 pairs of needles, 2 crochet hooks, 1 stitch keeper, a circular needle and a needle guage, was this delightful thing, it counts rows AND measures! The price of £10.00 for the lot, was worth it, just for this:


And on my travels, I went to a little fabric shop in the next village, and found that unlike the posh shop in town, or the other shop where everyone who's anyone goes, this shop, which doesn't hold alot of fabric at all, stocks Amy Butler and Heather Bailey amongst others! Wow. However, I think these fat quarters might be my only concession to pink, pastel and all things nice. I do love them, but I'm feeling like I need a lie down already...


3 comments:

French Knots said...

You can never have too many buttons, sometimes I even let the children play with them too!
I've recently started knitting so your ebay haul looks great....will go and see what I can find on there...

Anonymous said...

I once buried a tin of old buttons on a beach (after watching the guys with metal detectors combing the beach for treasure) I thought it would be funny for them to dig up..... we picked out all the good ones and whoever found the "treasure" had heaps of manky buttons instead of gold and diamonds!!!! :-)

Ali said...

Bead shop??! Heather and Amy??! Please please fellow Oxfordshire dweller, tell me where. Pretty please. If I promise not to buy them all?